A dossier has been drawn up by the Egunkaria Support Group
to detail developments that have taken place since what was the
only newspaper written entirely in Basque (Euskera) at the time,
was shut down by the Guardia Civil (Spain's paramilitary police
force) on 20 February 2003, on orders from investigating magistrate
Juan del Olmo of the Audiencia Nacional (a Madrid-based court
which has exclusive competence for trying cases involving terrorist
offences).

Ten members of the newspaper's staff were arrested, including
the editor-in-chief Martxelo Otamendi, and seven face charges
that may result in sentences of between one and fourteen years
in prison for "forming an illegal organisation". Del
Olmo considers that the setting up and the development of the
Euskaldon Egunkaria project was part of "one of ETA's long
term strategies", whereas defendants argue that all the
judge does is to amass elements of suspicion rather than delivering
any evidence against them.

The investigation and charges resulted in the closing down
of the newspaper, the freezing and investigation of the suspects'
assets, and four defendants also alleged that they were tortured
in custody, with Otamendi claiming that a gun was pointed to
his head, that a plastic bag was placed over his head, and that
he was forced to strip, get down on all fours and crouch and
stand repeatedly. This resulted in counter-charges being brought
against them by the Interior Minister (headed by Ángel
Acebes at the time) for presenting "false" reports
of torture, for "slander" against the Guardia Civil
and, in line with the government's policy at the time, for "collaborating
with the terrorist group [ETA]" through the presentation
of false torture claims.

Three years on, on 23 February 2006, the 2nd Chamber of the
Audiencia Nacional has confirmed the "provisional"
charges and authorised the pre-trial proceedings to continue,
rejecting the appeals filed by defence lawyers to drop the case
in a writ in which the cases of the different defendants are
treated jointly, that states that there is "clear evidence
of crime". The dossier compiled by the Support Group includes
appeals issued by Amnesty International in the aftermath of the
closure in 2003, calling for a "prompt and thorough judicial
investigation into the closure", and by the PEN Club at
its 71st International Congress held in Slovenia on 14-21 June
2005, expressing concern over press freedom in relation to the
Egunkaria case and others in which media outlets were closed
down on suspicion of cooperation with ETA (Egin newspaper, Egin
Irratia radio station and Ardi Beltza weekly magazine), calling
for the Spanish government to summon an "impartial and international
board of inquiry to investigate these cases", urging it
to "stay the proceedings" in the Egin and Egunkaria
cases or to speed them up, as well as to "guarantee a fair
trial and the freedom of the press and of expression".

Statewatch does not
have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views
expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible
for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link
does not constitute an endorsement.